Although Disney was quoted in the 1930s as having no interest in television, that opinion had changed by the early 1950s, when television burst onto the American social scene. On Christmas Day in 1950 for NBC, and again in 1951 for CBS, Disney produced hour-long specials that employed a number of clips from various Disney films and short subjects. Both specials achieved excellent ratings, and soon all three networks were wooing Disney to create an entire series for them.

Disney’s interest in television was stimulated by his attempts to construct the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. Encountering difficulty in financing the project, Walt offered network executives a television series in return for the network making a substantial investment in the park. ABC, trailing substantially behind NBC and CBS, had just merged with United Paramount Theatres in 1953 and used this new influx of cash to fulfill Disney’s request. The resultant anthology series, appropriately named Disneyland, premiered in late 1954, quickly becoming the first ABC program to crack the Nielsen top 20.

Disney’s relationship with ABC contradicted the strategy espoused by the rest of the film industry. During this period, Hollywood studios viewed television as a competitor to motion pictures and attempted to crush the medium. Walt Disney, however, quickly saw TV’s potential as a promotional tool. The first two specials combined old footage with promotions for upcoming theatrical releases such as Alice in Wonderland (1951). Disney’s first Emmy award would be awarded for an hour-long Disneyland episode about the filming of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), which was titled “Operation Undersea” but humorously known in the industry as “The Long, Long Trailer.” The series also worked to advertise the park, with individual episodes devoted specifically to its construction.

Other studios soon attempted to duplicate Disney’s success. Series such as The MGM Parade and Warner Brothers Presents quickly appeared, promoting the studios’ latest releases. These programs disappeared almost as quickly, mainly because Disney and his studio had constructed a unique image for themselves as producers of family entertainment. With a backlog of animated features and shorts, Disney came to television already known for entertaining children around the world (knowing the value of this backlog, Disney held onto the television rights to all of his films, at a time when all other studios were raising revenue by selling off the permanent television rights to their entire pre-1948 film catalogs). From years of marketing towards children, Disney understood how children could influence their parents to buy products. After Disneyland’s “Davy Crockett” episode created a merchandising phenomenon, Disney introduced The Mickey Mouse Club, a daily afternoon series. With this show, one of the first attempts to target television programming at children, advertisers now conceived of children as a marketable group and initiated a tradition of weekday-afternoon programming oriented towards younger audiences.

The studio’s background in film production led to the decision to film the Mickey Mouse Club episodes, allowing for higher production values, rather than performing them live. The high-quality look of the series (and the subsequent involvement of other film studios in television production) helped shift television programming from live broadcasts to filmed entertainment. Long before television technology became regulated and promoted, Disneyland episodes were filmed in color. Disney would promote the conversion to color when the anthology series, renamed Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, moved in 1961 to NBC, which was beginning color broadcasts.

Disney’s importance to television as a producer of programming is incalculable. His successes had an enormous effect on decisions by motion picture studios to enter into television production, thus guaranteeing programming for the fledgling medium. Yet Disney is important as a television icon as well. Working as a host for the anthology series bearing the Disney name until the end of his life in 1966, Walt Disney quickly became identified by most children as “Uncle Walt.” With an easy-going manner and a warm smile, he spoke to viewers in a Midwestern twang, enthusiastically demonstrating how certain special effects were created for his films, explaining the latest advances in space technology, or narrating a beloved fairy tale accompanied by scenes from his animated features. Usually filmed in a set that looked like his studio office, Disney gave the impression that he would drop all business to spend some time with his audience or engage in banter with cartoon characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (who “magically” interacted with him as if they actually existed in the same space). More than in any other way, Disney’s presence and persona helped represent his company as promoter of American family values and television itself as a “family medium.” Even after his death, the company’s television productions and subsequent cable channel have reinforced that image of wholesome family entertainment.